The pinnacle of the kart racing genre and the first video game I ever played. The boost mechanic and physics are top-notch and this game is filled to the brim with content in comparison to other racing games at the time. All 16 tracks have wonderful designs and are fun to race on and fit well with the game's story mode. While I think Diddy Kong Racing has the better adventure mode, this game's story mode is still pretty good and it is fun to explore the hub world and race through the 16 tracks it takes to get to Oxide. In terms of unlockables, this game has a ton of them. You can unlock every boss character, Fake Crash, and a track called Turbo Track from playing the story, N-Tropy from beating his time trial ghosts, and Penta Penguin by inserting a cheat code in the main menu. You can also unlock a handful of battle mode stages but I don't remember how you do so. Not only was this game a phenomenal competitor for Mario Kart but also one of the best Crash games in the series.

This game still has the best combat in the franchise and has undoubtedly withstood the test of time. Even without the additions from Final Mix, I remember this version of the game still being just as fun. There are a handful of drive forms that give Sora two keyblades and briefly change up the playstyle depending on which one you choose. The drive forms are all pretty useful and make the gameplay a lot more fun than it already is. Reaction commands are another welcome addition. They're basically just quick-time events where you need to press a button on time as a small cutscene plays. Usually quick-time events are a hit or miss, but in this case, they knocked it out of the ballpark. I will never get tired of looking at the reaction commands on the final boss which is my favorite final boss ever.

In terms of story, it was a bold move of them to start the game with Roxas back when this game came out. I already knew about the plot of Chain of Memories before playing but I'd imagine how confused fans must have been when they were playing as him in the beginning. Story-wise, the game's plot is pretty much just Sora trying to find his friends and finally return home with them while saving the world from a new band of villains called Organization XIII who are trying to create an artificial version of Kingdom Hearts. While I think it would have been better if Disney villains and really just Disney characters in general had more of an influence like they did in the original, Xemnas & his squad are still good villains in their own right and an absolute blast to fight. The ending to this game's story was also very satisfying to where I would have been perfectly fine if they ended the series after this title.

While I think the world choices in the original Kingdom Hearts were pretty solid, this game probably has the best roster of worlds in the series so far. Returning worlds like Olympus & Agrabah are expanded upon and a lot of the new worlds add some pretty interesting gimmicks like becoming a lion in the Pride Lands (my favorite world in this game and second favorite in the series as a whole) and Space Pandroids which allows you to meet Tron and even let you participate in a light cycle minigame. Despite some of the neat gimmicks added, the worlds in this game aren't as interactive or as interesting to explore as they were in the first game. Most of the worlds feel like empty, spaced-out corridors compared to the original where the worlds felt like they had more life in them. The worlds themselves also don't have as much of an impact on the story as the first game and feel more like filler some of the time. Unfortunately, that is a problem that gets even worse with each and every passing installment in this series.

Besides combat, one thing I almost forgot to mention is this game has an amazing soundtrack that is even better than the first game's soundtrack. Lazy Afternoons, Darkness of the Unknown, and multiple other songs from this game stood out to me and I still occasionally listen to them when I am in the mood to do so.

KH2's 10/10 combat, fantastic conclusion, and its soundtrack full of bangers make this a sequel that improves upon the original in more ways than not. It's a Ps2 essential just like its predecessor.

Simple and Clean is probably the best way to describe this game. Before you needed to play 15 different games to understand why everyone is Xehanort, it all started with a boy forced to embark on a journey to other worlds with Donald & Goofy in order to find his friends. It had a simple, easy-to-understand story.

Gameplay-wise, its a little bit rough around the edges compared to future titles but it still holds up pretty well. There are a wide variety of spells and abilities that are useful in some way, shape, or form throughout the game and they're all fun to use. The biggest problem I have which is exclusive to this version of the game is that in order to use abilities, you have to scroll down the menu as opposed to just being able to press the triangle button reaction command style like you can in the remaster. This makes fighting Dark Riku extra frustrating as you can easily die if you do not have fast enough reaction skills. The other big issue is you CANNOT skip cutscenes in this version of the game. This inconvenience also adds even more insult to injury when you die against Dark Riku or any other somewhat difficult boss.

The difficulty in this game is the fairest it has also ever been in a KH game. A lot of the future entries are typically a bit on the easy side, but this game has its challenging parts that are very satisfying once you finally beat them. These challenging parts in the game usually come at the perfect time when you will be incentivized to grind a little or develop a better strategy for defeating enemies or bosses.

The worlds in this game were all good choices and they all have a level of interactivity you don't get when playing future games in the series. Riding that dolphin in Atlantica, that mini game where you slide on that tree with Tarzan in Deep Jungle, or being able to light the big candles in Wonderland add that small bit of immersion and attention to detail to them that comes a long way. Exploring Halloween Town, Atlantica, Deep Jungle, Hollow Bastion, and even Traverse Town was just a blast to experience and I wish I could re-experience it all again for the first time.

The last aspect I can give this game props for is that it somehow was able to make the Final Fantasy aspect of this crossover work. Every Final Fantasy character in this game was implemented in a way where it felt natural to see them and make them relevant to the plot. The same goes with a lot of the Disney characters as well. The characters from the Disney worlds also have relevance to the story of the game and Maleficent & her other Disney goons were solid villains for this game.

Playing through this game for the first time was just a magical experience and I always have a good time when I revisit this game. This game easily takes the cake for being my favorite game of all time and if you have a Ps2, Ps3, or any modern console then you absolutely need to play this game.

I remember waiting and hoping that this game would get an American release and being happy when they finally announced the localization for this. The story was completely original and I really enjoyed it a lot. Patrick Redfield has a really interesting power and is a good villain. The combat reminds me a bit of Kingdom Hearts but nobody has quite as many combat options in terms of the wide amount of abilities Sora has. Each character does feel different though and each of them has a unique fighting style and abilities that allow them to unlock secrets across the levels. The combat does feel a little bit slow and somewhat janky but overall it isn't terrible. In retrospect, I'm glad Bandai Namco localized it as this is a solid adventure.

As far as anime brawlers go this one actually is not half bad. It feels less janky in comparison to J-Stars and the Haki & Devil Fruit mechanics are interesting and good fanservice. Roster wise its pretty solid too although it is missing a few characters like Magellan, Arlong, and Kuro. Story wise it only covers Marineford which is a bit disappointing as I was hoping it would cover the whole story. Like pretty much any other anime brawler, it does get tiresome after a while but I didn't get bored of it nearly as quick as I did with J-Stars so I give it props for that.

While I personally think the original game is better, this is a solid remake. The new balloon-popping minigame makes good use of the stylus and is surprisingly good. The game also uses the stylus as a way of getting that head start boost at the beginning of each race. While it is certainly a creative way of utilizing the stylus, it can be a minor annoyance at times. While it sucks Banjo & Conker couldn't come back due to legal reasons, Dixie & Tiny aren't terrible replacements and the extra characters this remake adds do make up for it. The ability to create your own tracks is an impressive feature other racing games should but haven't utilized. The custom track designs are a bit bland and probably could have been better, but its still impressive that they were able to pull it off. The last addition are the new tracks. While I certainly can appreciate that they took the time to add them, they're a bit bland and not nearly as memorable as the tracks in the original. I don't like it as much as the N64 version but I'd be lying if I said that they didn't put any care into this remake. It is a great way for those who didn't originally get the chance to play the original to experience this classic.

I remember this game being one of the few reasons I wanted an Xbox One back when this was announced. Nearly 10 years later, with all of the game's content finally being released I can safely say this is one of the greatest games ever made. The game's difficulty is perfect since it will require you to learn how to use the weapons and adjust to the bosses' strategies in order to win. Charge & Crack Shot are a bit overpowered but even with them the game still retains a level of challenge. The animation is extremely consistent and absolutely beautiful. It feels like you're literally playing a 1930's rubberhose cartoon. The side-scrolling stages are my least favorite part of the game, but they're still decent and give the game a little extra longevity. I don't give out perfect 10s lightly but this game absolutely deserves it. PLAY THIS GAME!

A good racing game, but not my favorite one. There is a lot going for it though. For starters, its the first kart racer to give you the option between car, plane, or hovercraft which other games would eventually follow in later years. It has a really solid story mode with a cool world to explore. Crash Team Racing had one too, but Diddy Kong Racing has the better story mode. My main gripe with this game is the physics aren't as good as Crash Team Racing and it is generally slower than both Mario Kart & CTR. Besides the physics which knock the game down a couple of points, this is a game that was ahead of its time in a few ways and does far more good than bad.